The Ulster Unionist Parliamentary Party is seeking an early meeting with the British Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Stephen Byers, to discuss its opposition to the potential takeover of the Belfast Telegraph and Associated Newspapers group by the Independent Newspaper Group.
At the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary group on Thursday its members "unanimously resolved that it is opposed to such a deal on the grounds of fair competition" and has since advised the Competition Commission of its concerns.
As a result of Thursday's discussion, the Parliamentary group instructed the deputy leader of the UUP, Mr John Taylor, and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP, to request a meeting with Mr Byers.
In a letter to the Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Taylor said if the proposed sale went through the Independent Group would have "an almost complete monopoly of daily, evening and Sunday newspapers on an all-Ireland basis". Such a monopoly could lead to the closure of smaller newspapers and the possible loss of jobs within the newspaper industry in Northern Ireland.
After its meeting, the UUP group said the Independent Group already owned the largest daily and evening newspapers in Ireland and that it was barred from further acquisitions within Ireland because of its dominant position.
In a statement, it said a dominant Independent Group could be detrimental to smaller daily and weekly newspapers in Northern Ireland. The group feared "an almost total monopoly" would be created if the Independent Group achieved dominance within the newspaper industry in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast Telegraph and Associate Newspaper group is owned by Trinity Newspapers and includes the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life, Sunday World and the group of Community Telegraph titles.
Independent is facing strong competition in its bid. Rival bids have been lodged by Guardian Newspapers, United States media group Gannett, Regional Independent Media and a venture capital-backed management buyout.
The price tag for the Telegraph is expected to be at least £250 million sterling and the successful bid is likely to be announced within the next few weeks.
Independent has sought to assure both unionist and nationalist readers that the Telegraph's editorial independence and its editorial policy of supporting moderate unionism will be maintained if its bid is successful.
